Related Media

The announcement was made by Florian Zitzlsperger, head of brand partnership and sports marketing for Audi, on Friday at the 2012-13 World Cup openers in Soelden, Austria.

"The opportunity that we were most excited about was the 2015 World Championships in Vail and Beaver Creek," Zitzlsperger said. "It gives us the chance to showcase the global nature of the World Championships, and our colleagues in North America are already beginning to work to ensure a very great World Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek."

Audi becomes the fifth major international partner to sign on for the 2015 Championships, joining Swedish energy company Vattenfall, Swedish sport apparel manufacturer J. Lindeberg, German shoe retailer Deichmann and Swiss timekeeper Longines.

"We are very excited to have Audi on board as our presenting sponsor for the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships," said Ceil Folz, president of the Vail Valley Foundation and president of the 2015 World Championships. "Not only are they an exceptional world-class brand, but they are obviously passionate about skiing and ski racing. We are very much looking forward to working with Audi on 2015 and creating an exceptional event platform and experience for their brand to shine."

The overall presenting sponsor for the men's and women's FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race circuits since 2002 and the automobile sponsor for the U.S. Ski Team since 2007, Audi's role with the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships dates back to 2003 in St. Moritz,

Switzerland.

The sponsorship was facilitated by Tridem Sports AG, the Swiss-based sports management and rights agency responsible for securing the seven top-level sponsors for the 2015 World Championships.

"We are very pleased that Audi has chosen to enhance their role in alpine skiing as the presenting partner for the 2015 World Championships," said Christian Pirzer, Tridem Sports' founder and CEO. "We look forward to working closely with Audi and the 2015 Vail/Beaver Creek Organizing Committee to put on a most memorable Alpine World Ski Championships."

Scheduled for Feb. 2-15 of 2015, the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail and Beaver Creek are expected to showcase athletes from more than 70 nations, with an estimated 750 million worldwide television viewers and an onsite media and broadcast entourage of approximately 1,500 members.